U.S. Green Building Council Cascadia Chapter

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U.S. Green Building CouncilCascadia Chapter

• Presentation on Commissioning

Craig Hawkins, CHDS Commissioning and
Engineering Todd McGuire, Engineering Economics,
Inc. Bryan Welsh, Keithly Welsh Associates, Inc.
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Outline

• Introduction to Commissioning - Bryan
• LEED Commissioning - Craig
• Case Studies - Todd

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Company Profile

• Established in 1996, Exclusively Commissioning
  Services
• Unique focus on the owners perspective.
• Team with extensive facilities engineering,
  construction, maintenance and commissioning
  experience.
• Over 100 commissioning projects of various sizes
  and types around the world including LEED and
  CHPS projects
• Founding and active member of Building
  Commissioning Association
• Member USGBC

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Why Commissioning?
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Design Related Issues
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Ill take whats Behind Door 1
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At least they wont mess with the thermostat.
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No problem, let me get my saw..
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Look, someone has a fire alarm pull station for
sale on the bulleting board.
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I guess well assign old Slim to service that
unit.
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Oh Shucks!
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Construction Issues
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Dirt Construction Debris
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Equipment Without Lubrication
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Missing Insulation Above Ceiling
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Maintenance Access Prevented
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Filter Access Problems
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Actuators Missing or Fallen Off
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Improper Condensate Drains
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The Code Official Fallacy

• 290K Sq. Ft. Facility
• 162 Smoke and Fire/Smoke Dampers
• 103 of them had problems
• Fire sprinkler system had problems
• System had been accepted by the Authority Having
  Jurisdiction (Fire Marshall)

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Control System Problems
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The Commissioning Continuum
Post Occupancy
Post Construction
Design
Construction
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Design Intent

• Speaks in terms of the Owners needs and desires
• Contains the Basis of Design, which speaks more
  to numbers and design conditions
• Quantifiable goals are important
• Required by LEED
• Responsibility of the design team and Owner,
  reviewed by Commissioning Consultant
• Critical to the program and commissioning, yet
  often not fully developed

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Commissioning Specifications

• Outlines scope of commissioning
• Roles and responsibilities
• Methodology
• Should be provided by Commissioning Consultant
• Relates to Design Intent
• Required by LEED

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Monitoring and Verification

• MV for extra LEED point
• Can integrate with many of the building control
  systems
• Should be included in commissioning plan

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Cost of Cx Services

• Oregon Office of Energy
• 0.40 to 0.80 per square foot
• USGBC LEED
• 0.5 1.5 of total construction cost for
  whole-building commissioning
• 1.5 2.5 of mechanical contract for mechanical
  only
• 1.0 1.5 of electrical contract for electrical
  only
• PECI
• 2.5 of the mechanical contract
• 1.5 of the electrical contract

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Cost of CX Services
Depth Scope and Extent of Services
Cost
Breadth Extent of Systems to be Commissioned
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Cx Lessons Learned

• Get the commissioning consultant on-board early.
• Inform the design team early that LEED is a goal
  and what the score card will look like.
• The Owner needs a clear idea of the scope of
  commissioning work, desired and required, in
  terms of, depth, breadth and cost.
• Put an emphasis on the Design Intent early.
• Develop at least a rough MV plan early.

Early Involvement
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The USGBCs Green Building Rating SystemL E E
DTMLEADERSHIP IN ENERGY ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

• Requirements for Commissioning
• to achieve a LEED Rating

Craig A. Hawkins
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Presenter

• Craig A. Hawkins,
• President, CHDS Commissioning Engineering,
  Auburn, WA
• Over 25 Years of Building Mechanical Systems
  experience, including
• Manufacturing Engineering, 3 years
• Design-Build Contracting, 8 years
• Consulting Engineering, 14 years
• Specializing in Whole Building Commissioning
  since 1993
• Founding Member of the Building Commissioning
  Association (BCA)
• Current Member of BCAs Board of Directors
• Co-Authored BCAs Essential Attributes of
  Building Commissioning

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LEED Prerequisite (1 of 7)

• Fundamental Building Systems Commissioning

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Fundamental Building Systems Commissioning
Implement ALL of the following six fundamental
best practice commissioning procedures

• Engage a Commissioning Authority
• Develop design intent and basis of design
  documentation
• Include commissioning requirements in the
  construction documents
• Develop and utilize a Commissioning Plan
• Verify installation, functional performance,
  training and documentation
• Complete a Commissioning Plan

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1 Engage a Commissioning Authority

• The project shall have a Commissioning Authority
  (CxA) designated as early as possible. The CxA
  should be an objective advocate of the Owner,
  independent from the design team, and should
  possess the following qualities
• Qualified, professional firm regularly engaged in
  the performance of Building Commissioning
• Experienced with providing
• Managerial and organizational leadership
• Excellent communication skills
• Technical aspects of the particular projects
  systems, components, and elements
• Construction management
• Hands-on field experience with
• Start-up Procedures
• Testing
• Troubleshooting
• Operation Maintenance
• Active member in related professional
  organization, such as the BCA

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2 Collect and review design intent and basis of
design documentation

• For all commissioned elements as well as those
  that significantly interact with commissioned
  elements
• Identify the primary design assumptions in the
  basis of design
• Occupancy
• Space and process requirements
• Codes, policies, standards
• Load and climatic assumptions
• Document the design intent that was considered to
  be important in the development of the design
• Ideas
• Concepts
• Criteria
• Review the design concepts narrative describing
  how the designer is planning to meet the design
  intent, using the basis of design information

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3 Include commissioning requirements in the
construction documents

• Drawings Include on cover sheet for each
  effected discipline
• Cx Agents Name and contact information
• List of systems/equipment to be commissioned
• Reference Cx Plan and Cx Specification Section
• Specifications Include a specific Commissioning
  Section (CSI Section 01810) including
• Scope of Commissioning
• List of systems/equipment to be commissioned
• Detailed requirements for
• Submittal Review
• Construction Phase Observations
• Start-Up and TAB
• O M Documentation
• Owner Training
• Warranty Period Activities
• Scope, Rigor and Schedule of all Functional
  Performance Testing

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4 Develop and utilize a Commissioning Plan

• A comprehensive document detailing all aspects of
  the commissioning effort for the project
• Overview of the commissioning process
• Roles and responsibilities of each team member
  involved with commissioning
• Management and communications between all
  involved with commissioning
• Procedures for
• Submittal review
• Construction Phase Observations
• Pre-FPT and FPT Procedures with associated FPT
  Checklists
• O M Review
• Owner Training
• Warranty Period Activities
• Reporting Forms
• Schedule of all commissioning events
• The Cx Plan is written and maintained by the
  Commissioning Agent, ideally completed and
  published prior to the bid period. At a minimum,
  publish prior to installation of any commissioned
  element

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5 Verify installation, functional performance,
training and documentation

• Installation
• Construction observations to ensure proper
  installation in compliance with Design Documents,
  Cx Plan, Mfg.'s installation instructions, and to
  ensure that other building systems and components
  are not compromising the efficacy of the element
• Functional Performance
• FPTs to ensure that commissioned element
  performs as intended under all sequences of
  operation (start-up, shutdown, reset, occupied,
  unoccupied, manual, automatic, modulation range,
  power failure, alarms, staging, redundant,
  interlock with other systems, sensor calibration,
  etc)
• Appropriate sampling on numerous like units
• Seasonally deferred testing (cooling system in
  summer, heating system in winter)
• Owner Training
• Documented verification that training by
  qualified individuals was provided to the
  projects operational staff for a sufficient
  duration to ensure that the staff has all the
  information needed to optimally operate, maintain
  and replace all the commissioned elements
• OM Documentation
• Documented verification that the OM materials
  for each commissioned element have been provided
  to the operational staff complete and clearly are
  accessible

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6 Complete a Commissioning Report

• Final report by the Cx Agent to the Owner at the
  end of all FPTs, except any seasonal deferred
  testing, including
• List of all commissioned elements
• Disposition of element (FPT results)
• Design intent
• Product specification
• Installation data
• OM documentation
• Owner training documentation
• List of all outstanding commissioning issues
  (such as any deferred testing)
• All outstanding environmentally responsive
  feature deficiencies corrected and noted
• All completed FPTs and associated FPT Checklists

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Energy AtmosphereCredit 3

• Additional Commissioning

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Additional Commissioning
In addition to the Fundamental Building
Commissioning prerequisite, implement ALL of the
following five additional commissioning tasks

• Conduct a focused review of the design prior to
  the construction documents phase
• Conduct a focused review of the construction
  documents when close to completion
• Conduct a selective review of contractor
  submittals of commissioned equipment
• (Note The three items listed above must be
  performed by someone other than the projects
  designer)
• Develop a system and energy management manual
• Have a contract in place for near-warranty end or
  post occupancy review

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1 Conduct a focused review of the design prior
to the construction documents phase

• A qualified party (other than the design team)
  shall review the design prior to the release of
  the construction phase documents to ensure that
• Each commissioned element meets the design
  intent relative to
• Functionality
• Energy Performance
• Maintainability
• Sustainability
• System costs
• IAQ issues
• Local environmental impacts

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2 Conduct a focused review of the construction
documents when close to completion

• A qualified party (other than the design team)
  shall review the construction phase documents
  prior to release to ensure that
• Commissioning is adequately specified
• Each commissioned element can be commissioned
• Each commissioned element meets the design
  intent relative to
• Functionality
• Energy Performance
• Maintainability
• Sustainability
• System costs
• IAQ issues
• Local environmental impacts

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3 Conduct a selective review of contractor
submittals of commissioned equipment

• A qualified party (other than the design team)
  shall review the commissioned elements submittals
  for compliance with the commissioning
  requirements, including
• Design intent
• Environmentally responsive characteristics
• Maintainability

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4 Develop a System and Energy Management Manual

• A comprehensive document (in addition to the
  OMs) delivered to the Owner along with the
  Final Cx Report, which includes
• Description of each commissioned element
  including
• Final design intent
• System narrative
• Sequence of operation
• Seasonal normal start-up, shutdown and restart
  procedures
• Control drawings
• Description and rationale for energy savings
  features including
• Operating Instructions
• Caveats about functions
• Maintenance relative to energy use
• Recommendations and methodology for
  whole-building energy accounting (as applicable)
  including
• Guidelines for establishing and tracking
  benchmarks for whole-building energy use
• Guidelines for establishing and tracking
  benchmarks for primary plant equipment
  efficiencies
• Schedule and procedures for continuous and/or
  re-commissioning of elements
• Specific recommendations regarding seasonal
  operational issues
• A list of all user adjustable setpoints that
  includes
• Discussion regarding the purpose of each setpoint
• Range of reasonable adjustments with energy
  implications

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5 Have a contract in place for near-warranty
end or post occupancy review

• Cx Agent shall return to project site at the 10th
  month of the first 12-month warranty period to
  review the following with the buildings
  operational staff
• Review condition of all outstanding issues
  related to the original FPTs and deferred
  testing
• Identify problems or concerns related to building
  operation
• Assist staff in developing reports,
  documentation, and requests for services to
  remedy outstanding problems
• Cx Agent to follow-up the return visit with a
  written report to the Owner that includes
• Findings from the warranty period review with
  operational staff
• Suggestions on problems identified during
  warranty period review with operational staff
• Items that may be under warranty or appear to be
  construction related
• Documentation that assists staff in requesting
  services to remedy outstanding problems

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Case Studies
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Company Profile

• Established in 1984, 12 years Cx

• 26 employees in 5 branches nationwide

• Cxd 10,000,000 SF of space for 163 clients

• 23 LEED projects, 18 by Seattle branch

• Founding member of BCA

• Member USGBC for 3 years

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LEED Cx Case studies

• Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center

• LEED Cx Prerequisite

• Renovation, historical bldg

• Smaller bldg, simple systems

• Seattle Central Library

• LEED Cx Prerequisite Credit w/ MV

• New construction (early LEED adoption)

• Large bldg, complex systems

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Ecotrust Natural Capital Center
LEED V2.0 Gold
70,000 SF
Completed Sept. 2001
Private sector
Rooftop gas fired packaged VAV units, occ sensors
Cx Authority Scope of Work

• Energy Atmosphere Prerequisite 1 only

• Cx Plan, Cx Report, letter of achievement

• Energy Atmosphere Credit 5 MV

• Measurement and Verification Plan

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Ecotrust Natural Capital Center
Cx Challenges Rewards

• Later adoption of LEED engagement of CA

• Limited to Cx Prerequisite only

• Extra work for design documentation awareness
  and requirements for contractor support of Cx

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Ecotrust Natural Capital Center
Cx Challenges Rewards

• Increased A/E and CM team awareness, support and
  interaction w/ Cx process

• Reliance on Cx Plan, ECM documentation for MV

• Design intent, Pre-functional documentation,
  Start-up and functional testing support

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Ecotrust Natural Capital Center
Lessons Learned

• Early decision on LEED Cx (budget, roles)

• Full Cx scope more economical, early team
  awareness

• Cx integration with design documents enhances
  achievement of energy and operational savings

• Importance of CM team acceptance to LEED

• CA/CM teaming is cost effective comprehensive

• 3rd party, Owner based Quality Assurance
  enhances contractor Quality Control

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Seattle Central Library
LEED V2.0 Silver
400,000 SF
Completion late 2003
Public building
Chillers, City steam, under floor air, atrium,
fire alarm, security, multi-site DDC
Cx Authority Scope of Work

• Energy Atmosphere Prerequisite Credit Cx

• DD CD Review, Re-CX Management Manual, broader
  scope of services

• Energy Atmosphere Credit 5 MV

• Measurement and Verification Plan

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Seattle Central Library
Cx Challenges Rewards

• Cx Review of Design

• Timing, scope and budget

• Design team support and documentation review

• AHJs, smoke management and energy savings

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Seattle Central Library
Cx Challenges Rewards

• Design Development Assistance

• OM advocacy and Value Engineering

• IAQ Management Plan review, Fire Alarm and
  security system support

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Seattle Central Library
Lessons Learned

• Define level and role of CA involvement in
  design development process

• Involve CA with operations advocacy and Value
  Engineering exercises

• Enhance CA scope to address complex systems
  (life safety, low voltage, electrical)

• Integrate Measurement and Verification early for
  best design support of MV capability

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U.S. Green Building CouncilCascadia Chapter

• Thank You
• Questions?

Craig Hawkins, CHDS Commissioning and
Engineering Todd McGuire, Engineering Economics,
Inc. Bryan Welsh, Keithly Welsh Associates, Inc.